Worship - Sunday at 10:30AM
Bible Study - Wednesday at 6:30PM
2007-05-06 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
OTHER GODS (PART 3)
Mark 10:32-45
32. And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
33. Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
34. And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
36. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
37. They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39. And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
40. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
41. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
42. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Whenever we try to take a look at how false gods and idolatry within the body affects the church today, it's a difficult thing for us to see; we have a tendency to automatically reject any thought of it. In our minds, we have this picture of people dancing around trees, bowing down before some image, or standing around a huge pot and boiling weird things, so in this matter of idolatry and false gods, we think we're pretty much in the clear. The problem with our idea about false gods is exactly that, it's our idea. Like the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14) who prayed within himself, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are", we find ourselves condemned for trusting in our own righteousness. We think we have it right, and we're in the clear because we don't worship the way pagans do, but our pride is showing.
The common denominator behind every false religion and every form of idolatry is pride. If we're brave enough to really search our hearts, we'll begin to see all sorts of subtle, and not so subtle ways that we exalt ourselves. We think we know what's right; therefore we think we are right. Throughout the Scriptures, the one true and living God proves His ways are much higher than our ways, casting down pride and self-righteousness instead of celebrating it, and lifting up the humble behind the scenes, instead of calling channel 5 news to have a camera ready when He does it. This contradicts everything in our understanding of how things work in this world, and if we're honest with ourselves, it's contrary to our very being. We don't always like to be humble.
How many of us can say that we've stood up before a group of people and confessed all the ways our own selfish pride has hurt other people? The true and living God had a Son, one Son, a Son born into very humble and poor surroundings, a Son who lived humbly, forsaking possessions, but embracing life. The Bible tells us that the Son continues to humbly wait, exalted to glory, yes, but patiently waiting for His time to come.
The #1 sign of false gods, false teachings, and false religious practices is pride. Everything around us is trying to convince us that we can be happy without God. We're taught that if we would just let go of this notion that there is a God, our minds will be set free. By the resurrection to new life, Jesus proved the greatest freedom and happiness comes through loving each other as He loves us. He said we are known as Christians by the love we have one to another, but even in this very hour, pride is standing in our way. Let's cast that down and lift Him up.